Sushi Saga

«It’s closing time. You don’t have to go home but you can’t stay here.»
With the announcement of the Siena’s new ownership, the fate of the dining outlets was unknown. There was much public speculation, but even the employees themselves didn’t know what was going to happen. That is, until now. Unfortunately Sushi Saga will no longer exist when the property closes for renovations, and the awesome people working there will be free sushi agents, ones to watch as they enter the draft and look for a new team to join.
When I first discovered a Sushi Saga they were a 2-​Star rated business in a sea of great sushi bars, and a place I was unwilling to gamble my hard earned dollars. A few years later something shifted and the rating had moved up to 3-​stars, changed the menu and team running it, and issued a Groupon! At half price, I was definitely in to check it out, and I was immediately impressed.
Daniel, with his leadership and focus on customer service and creative, well made sushi, had created the exact sushi experience Id been missing for so long. Sushi Saga was small but well designed, the menu had delicious combinations that were supplemented by the chefs own creativity, and the whole experience was rounded out by Daniel’s famous words «Whatever you want. We’re here to please the customer.»
I instantly became a regular, wrote my first review and told everyone how great this place was now. But as management changed, the way Daniel had to run the restaurant changed, and I could not have the experience that made me love the restaurant any more, so I stopped coming.
Recently a group of Unilocalers started coming here again, sharing photos of the beautiful food, which inspired me to try it again and I found it was back to the original great sushi bar I loved.
And now, unfortunately there’s only a little more than a week left for Sushi Saga, so get in while you still can. In my opinion it’s one of the best sushi spots in town, and I’m sad to lose it and he people who work there. Daniel and his team have done an amazing job taking Sushi Saga from 2 stars to 4+ by just remaining committed to quality products and great customer service, and I’ll be looking to see where they all end up after all is said and done.
Cheers to many great years guys and continued success!

Sadly we came to sushi saga to say goodbye to our chefs and wait staff. Sorry to see changes are already made. Menu has changed slightly. Some of the staff is already gone. atmosphere has changed And not necessarily for the better. Staff is still great but you can feel the change. Guess we may have to go to The Reef or Sushi Bar at the Eldorado. Might come back at least once to check out how new hotel does it. Still ask your sushi chef to make his special. Today Edwin made a roll with spicy crab inside rainbow on the outside and crunch. Really good.
Just learned that the Sushi Saga is closing. Marriott Renaissance doesn’t want a sushi restaurant

Fantastic sushi and service. Don, Jovanni n Don. All wonderful chefs and service personal. As. Regular of course the service is great, but everyone seems to leave happy and full.

Today was my first venture to Sushi Saga and my first meal with my new friend, Angela F. We met last month at the Unilocal International Supper Club dinner at Naan & Kabab.
Today’s early dinner was my first time for sushi here but Angela had been here many times and knew the friendly staff and helped me with the menu. I had two kinds of Nigeri and one Roll. The fish was very tasty and seemed fresh. The rice was not huge servings; that is way i prefer it. I really wished the rolls were about half the size they are so I could sample more kinds! Next time I may stick with the Nigeria as each serving is just two pieces. The meal began with a choice of appetizers. we both had the fresh cucumber salad. I had a glass of Pinot Griegio (extra charge) and we both ended the meal with the included green tea ice cream.
Sushi Saga is located inside the Siena Hotel Casino. The sushi is AYCE for $ 21.95.
Looking forward to seeing Angela F. again. It seems we have many common interests.

Nice staff, fresh fish and a good deal at $ 16.95 AYCE.
Special thanks to the young man who sat next to me and did every impression in the book. He did all living presidents, plus Kennedy and Reagan, plus characters from South park, Robot Chicken, Family Guy, Bugs Bunny, etc.
The chefs were friendly and knowledgeable. They told me to expect a wait for my Sushi since it was busy, but offered me appetizers while I waited.
I also spoke with two mature twin brothers and a gluten free couple. Both stated that they were regulars. I will be too on my next stay at the Sienna.

In my last review I left out Edwin and Bjon! They are so wonderful, just as everyone here is. My boyfriend and I come here almost once a week. In my opinion it is the best sushi in Reno, the fish is incredibly fresh, they cater to my celiac disease with no complaints or judgement! Everyone who works here is so personable and has a great sense of humor, a nice addiction to the excellent sushi. Definitely give it a shot, a hidden gem in Reno

I’m here more than I should be… excellent sushi even better service. $ 21.95 dinner all you can eat plus a glass of sake can’t beat that deal especially if you’re hungry.

The fish was fresh, the service was great, and they modified the Vegas roll for us upon our request. Overall a great experience and we will definitely be returning the next time we are in Reno!
Side note: the setting is rather small and quaint, but don’t let that discourage you from trying this place out, the quality is in the sushi!
$ Price: Rolls ranged from $ 8 — $ 16 each, or $ 21.99 for All You Can Eat. The higher priced rolls were «long rolls» at 10 pieces each, well worth it.

They did better this time. The fried rice was great and only 8 bucks. Service was faster than usual. Crab Rangoon was great at only 5 bucks.

My husband and I are both picky when it comes to our sushi. We were at the Siena for an evening and decided to try this place. We were not let down. Don Cruz took great care of us and even had us try a roll that he made up — it should be on the menu it was our favorite of the evening. Overall, the presentation, taste and customer service was on point. We will be back!

Not big seafood eaters so we’ve never had an interest in trying Sushi until today. Our server was awesome and very knowledgeable. He brought us free samples to try and got my husband to order a deep fried roll. He loved it. All the food was hit, fresh, and really good. Service was excellent, friendly, quick, and just a nice guy. We would definitely return to try something else.

All you can eat sushi for a decent price of 20 $ at lunch and 22 $ at dinner.
Bit of a slow service — which is how they make you full faster. So expect at least 10 min wait for the food to come over. They also don’t come out with the full order all at once. It’s just whatever can fit on one plate at a time. As a result, they did forget some of my orders.
The quality of the fish looked fresh but didn’t have that fresh taste to it. It was definitely thoroughly cleaned down which is nice but I would have liked to taste the fish not the blandness of it.
And like most ayce sushi places, it’s a limit to 1 hour, have to eat everything you order or get charged, and you can’t share with others not doing ayce. However, what’s different about this place is that they serve mussels and cucumber or seaweed salad as appetizers. They also have dessert which is either green tea ice cream or orange with plum wine.

¹¹⁄₂₁ Update: My wife and I planned to visit Sushi Saga right after work on Friday, but when we arrived at 5:15pm all of the chairs at the bar were reserved with one woman nearby. It was explained to me that the bar was reserved for a party, but we could have a table instead. I looked at the one customer sitting there clutching her phone, considered that we were two customers ready to eat, and said no thanks. We drove straight to Sushi Pier 2 and were promptly seated at the bar and quickly serviced.
If you want any kind of service at a sushi restaurant, you sit at the bar. If you want second-​rate service, sit at a table. If you want worse, sit at a table when the bar is expected to be filled by a party.
I think it’s a bad decision to allow someone to reserve over a dozen seats at the bar when parties should be seated at tables, but that’s just my opinion. I also think it’s bad to treat two confirmed paying customers as less valuable than the one customer who claims more will show.
Rating adjusted, and business lost.

Just eat here. Like seriously, you can’t go wrong. They have blue fin tuna. Ask for Don. He is dope!

I’m new to the biggest little city, and as a university student, i’ve made an effort to discover the best sushi places to eat in Reno. This place? yeah, it wins.
The walk from campus to the restaurant was short, and we got seated immediately after we walked in. We sat at the sushi bar, and ordered the AYCE dinner. I got an order of mussels, and my friend got a seaweed salad. We were immediately hooked, and we ordered a dragon roll (chef’s recommendation!) and a rainbow roll.
Giovanni, our server, was prompt and friendly with our orders, which was a nice change in comparison to the other sushi places I had visited in town.
The fish was obviously fresh, and the chefs laughed and were super-​friendly with us while we ate. We ordered a Siena roll, which was my personal favorite, and my friend fell in love with a spider roll. After a pretty-​good Mountain roll, a second sushi chef showed up. The first sushi chef, Bijon, was obviously friends with the second chef, Don. Don offered to make a special, and we listed off a few kinds of a fish we liked. He made what was probably one of the best rolls of the night, smoked salmon rolled sushi with a spicy sauce, tuna, and scallops. It was AWESOME!
It was $ 23 for my meal, which came with green tea iced cream (sooo yummy!) The workers were all prompt and friendly, hanging out to talk with us while they made rolls for other customers. They genuinely cared about our experience, and we saw multiple customers walk in and ask for their regular order, which means people love the place enough to keep coming back for more.
Giovanni, Bijon, and Don were awesome, and my friend and I cannot wait to go back for more sushi!

This is tough to write only because I really enjoyed the staff, and the quality of ingredients, but the flavor combinations and textures were just not sitting comfy with me. Also there are some rules on AYCE that not many other places have that make another visit here highly unlikely.
This place is tiny, which means intimate, and that’s pretty cool. Probably one of the best times as far as conversing with the sushi chef, server and another guy at the bar. But, the roll selection and ingredients seem super limited, only one order of mussels is allowed (you do get 4), only one order of miso soup, one order of seaweed or cucumber salad, one order of edamame, and choice of green tea or orange for dessert all for a med-​high price range for lunch of $ 16.99 (which goes till 4 pm). You can get a free warm sake, but you must mention it or they won’t bring it. I would like a price without the sake too, since not everyone drinks.
I ordered two rolls, the Marilyn Monroe (shrimp tempera, spicy tuna, avocado, cucumber rolled in tempera crunch) and the Priscella (crystal shrimp, cream cheese, cilantro, spicy krab, avocado, orange sauce, unagi sauce) and one order of seared tuna, and one order of krab nigiri. According to the menu that would $ 8 a roll, plus $ 7!!! for krab nigiri (just seeing this and wow, imitation crab meat is one of the highest prices for nigiri, what?) and $ 6 for seared tuna.
The miso was too watery and bland. The mussels were the highlight of my meal. I would possibly come back for AYCE b/​c the chefs were creative and open to making rolls, but not when you have such frugal limits.
The main issue was everything was so soft, even the Marilyn which should have been crunchy, I did get a couple crunches, but not a lot. These rolls are huge, which I don’t care for when eating AYCE, because you are then limited on choices, because you can eat like 1 or 2. The Priscella was just wrong. That orange sauce is different. The tempera batter on that again, so soft. Everything is mushy here. The shrimp should have a crunch, the nori should not be soft either.
Now looking on the online menu you aren’t even offered all the signature rolls with AYCE, maybe for dinner you get all of them? Also some of the ingredients have changed based on the online menu, the Priscella should have spicy scallop, which it does not have, just spicy krab.
The fish I ate, was fresh, its just whatever combinations and such do not jive. I really don’t see myself ever coming back because for the price, I can go to places I actually enjoy the taste combos.
Sorry Sushi Saga, but between the flavor combos that don’t sit with me and the limits on appetizers and limited choices, I will not be back. I am sorry because I did really enjoy the staff, they were great, and the mussels were some of the best i’ve ever had, but not enough draw still.

All You Can Eat sushi is a fundamental staple in any Renoite’s diet. Sushi once a month (a week?) is kind of like a Reno rite of passage. Each flat fee you pay for all the Rainbow rolls you can fit your belly actually perpetually reaffirms your Renoness. It is just a fact.
Sushi Saga is great for several reasons. For example, the lunch price is right ($ 16.95), it’s an easy walk from work (downtown, in the Siena Hotel), and the fish, especially the hamachi, is generally spot-​on. The Siena Roll is refreshing– it has salmon, lemon, and something crispy that makes for a winning texture combo.
But for each good point, there is a counterpoint. The bar is small and can only accommodate a few diners (maybe 12? 14 max). There are only two chefs at any given time. There are usually open tables when I get there, but the hostess has always made us wait because the chefs can’t accommodate all the tables and the bar at the same time. I’ve actually been seated and had to wait at least 10 minutes before being acknowledged.
I mean, good sushi dangling at the end of that very long [annoying? unpleasant? frustrating?] stick gets me coming back. But if not for location and my recurring Reno sushi habit, I’d probably head elsewhere.

Im giving a four star due to the fact our waitress was so pleasant and even the sushi chef came out to our table. The atmosphere was nice, very small bar and the stools were a little weird but comfy. The sushi itself was ok but nothing great. I will try again maybe for dinner.

Through the last twelve years in Reno, we have gone to at least seven different AYCE sushi joints. This is the first time I am Unilocaling about ANY of them. We have been going to Sushi Saga for about a year now and will keep going back. The fish is always fresh and Daniel is the best. I have NO problems telling him, «make whatever» and trusting that he will knock it out of the ball park. If Sushi Saga wasn’t in the Siena, I swear I’d never set foot in it because the casino itself is fairly useless. Not only does he pride in the quality of the fish, Daniel listens to and pays attention to his customers, what they want and don’t want.
The lowered price only makes me want to go there every Friday now.

AYCE sushi isn’t always good, but this place was bomb.
Everything was delicious. We finished 7 rolls between us.
The Macho, Priscilla, Dragon, Shrimp Tempura, San Francisco, Mountain, and the Dessert Roll.
They don’t usually do the Dessert Roll on AYCE, but they made an exception for me. That alone is worth a star.
The only downside I can think of was it took a while for them to take our order.
Everything was stellar. We’ll be back the next time we’re in Reno and really hungry!